Just a lap away
by avs2810
Summary: Bella's life was filled with swimming, and when the oportunity to be a part of an international tournament with her best friends came, she never thought it would bring her more than the possibility for gold. Rated M just in case, for future chapters. AH, HEA, i promise, we already have way too much angst and tragedy in RL
1. Waiting to Board

CHAPTER 1 - Waiting to board

**Disclaimer: All things regarding the Twilight Saga belongs to the awesome Stephenie Meyer. All additional characters and the storyline belong to me**

**Hey guys!, so I finally got the courage to publish one of my stories, it's my first one so please be nice… at least in the beginning. Sorry if I have any mistake, it's my first time writing in English and I'll try to improve it**

**Anyway, I hope you give it a chance and I promise I'll try to shorten the A/N by next chapter, and as**

I hate mornings… period. Even if the reason behind the early call today is the most anticipated trip I've ever had, nope, I'm going to kill Alice for waking me up at four a.m., and the coach for booking the flight… heck, I'll throw the airline from hell as well for _having_ such an early flight. Ok, actually it was my fault first for getting the qualification time so… better not to go there

Regardless of who's fault was it first, the point is we're now at five thirty at Sea-Tac waiting to board the plane that's going to take us one step closer to our very first international swimming event!, yeah… talk about exciting. But let me explain it better for you…

Early may, our swimming coach told us she received an invitation to be guests at the 5th. Annual "Torneo Mercosur", an event held by the "Sociedade Ginástica de Novo Hamburgo", guess where… in Brazil!, she said this was an event that gathers swimmers from different South-American countries and this year they were extending an invitation to selected clubs around the globe to encourage the bonding between continents, and since there were so many for all of us to attend, we needed to achieve a qualification time

So, it was definitely an interesting rest of the year, the event was taking place the third week of December, from the 16th to the 20th, which gave us about six months to get everything ready, we started training an additional hour and a half a day on week days and a couple of extra gym hours on Saturdays, they separated us into three different groups of twenty

__ Flashback __

"_Ok, you guys, this is how it's going to be from now on… morning practice from 6 to 7:30, in the afternoon you'll have three different hours, 2 to 5, 4 to 7 and 6 to 10; Carmen has already arranged the lines you'll have free, and don't forget to hit the gym for an hour before you hit the pool" _said Eleazar mid-may

"_Also, you'll be having an extra gym day on Saturdays; the schedule is on the board so be sure you write your names down for each of them, you can maintain your usual partners if it works for you. Also there you can see the qualifying times so make sure you check it, the qualification meeting will take place the last weekend of august to give us time to arrange any documents we may need. Now go change so we can start" _finished Carmen, our assistant coach who was also Eleazar's wife

We were reaching the locker rooms when my very excited best friend reached me. _"Can you believe this B?!, we HAVE to make it, I can already see us all tanned for the holidays… OMG, can you imagine how hot we'll look on New Years Eve when we can totally rock the white dress while everybody else is looking like ghosts?"_

"_Ali, you know there's a possibility we won't be able to have free time to get tanned, right?"_ I told her trying to reign her over enthusiasm, though I have to admit, sunbathing time sounded amazing

"_Oh, come on Bells!, let the girl dream, maybe that'll be encouragement enough to improve her times" _said my other best friend, Rosalie. _"By the way, you better don't leave me out on the gym time bitches"_ added giving us the 'I-mean-it' look

The next couple of months came and went between practice, school and every single event we could come up with to raise money to soften the cost for some of the future travelers, and before we knew it, it was qualifying day (or Q-day as Emmet, Rose's boyfriend, called it)

Thank goodness Alice, Rose and I were in the same group, otherwise I truly don't think I would've make it, not because it was hard, but because in the same group with us were Mike (the club's flirter) and Jessica (the second bitch in command)

"_Hey, at least we got it way lighter than the guys"_ pointed Rose just as I finished fuming about Mike for the fifth time on our way to the pool. We've decided to carpool there so we could take turns on the driver's seat on the way back

Hmmm, that was actually right, Emmett and Jasper (Alice's boyfriend) got stuck with Lauren, aka 'bitch extraordinaire'

"_Yeah Belly, you had to see it, we came this close to lock her outside and hide her car keys" _said Emmet

"_Haha, and I swear if it wasn't for Em, Cullen here would've lost his 'gentleman side' that first week after the endless nagging"_ chuckled Jasper

Oh, yeah… Edward Cullen, he was one of the best swimmers we had, with his 6 feet 2 inches emerald green eyes and coppery unruly hair, oh, and don't forget a body to die for

That first month after the craziness began, Emmett and Jasper started hanging out more with him. He was usually very quiet and always by himself, but with Lauren near, he needed a buffer as Em put it. And so it also began my torment

I've always been able to behave "normally" when around boys… that is until he came to one of our movie nights. I swear I could easily get lost in those eyes, and don't even get me started on the current I always felt whenever our hands touched, or the way every single time we talked, it made me feel like we were on our own little bubble, I just only wished I could be all day in there with him

**So, this is it for now, I'm already working on the next one to send it to my awesome V so she can read it, thanks for giving it a chance to swimward/swimmerella**

**This story is loosely based in a real life situation for me and a couple of friends, that I always thought it could translate great to the fictional world and my dear friend Vane encouraged me to try it. The places described are real, as is the tournament mentioned, I just molded some of the events to fit into what I wanted, I'll do my best to have the links on my profile**


	2. We live, we swim, we are FAMILY

CHAPTER 2 – we live, we swim, we are FAMILY

**Disclaimer: All things regarding the Twilight Saga belongs to the awesome Stephenie Meyer. All additional characters and the storyline belong to me**

**Here we go again you guys, Thank you so much for actually giving it a chance!, and of course to Vane… who actually reads everything I sent her at her, te quiero naneee. This time you'll get to see how they met and movie-night, enjoy!, and as one of my favorite ff writers would say… ****_"On with it"_****:**

Every now and then we got together for a movie-night, especially when we had a meeting close by, and this time we were gathering at the Brandon household. So that's why we were currently at Alice's kitchen preparing the snacks while waiting for the guys to come back from practice

__ Flashback __

I met Alice on my first day at Port Angeles Swim Club, my mom Renee took me there one Monday afternoon after she and dad agreed it would be a good way to spend my summer when I was thirteen. Once I got to the locker room, the first thing I saw was this bubbly little girl bouncing towards me

_"Hi!, I'm Alice, who's going to be your coach?, omg, I hope we're in the same lane"_

_"Hi Alice!, I'm Bella… I'm not sure who's going to be yet"_

_"I'm soooo excited!, this year will be epic!. And I can just feel we'll be good friends, after practice I'll introduce you to the gang, pleeeease tell me you'll stay for after snacks!"_ she said jumping up and down, I swear I've never seen such a petite girl bouncing as much

That first day I fell in love with the sport and begged my parents to let me go even after the summer ended. Even though I could feel every single muscle in my body, even a few I never knew existed, the adrenaline running through my body felt amazing, I've never felt this way before, I knew my life would never be the same

After practice I went with Alice to the club's cafeteria, just when were sitting at the table, we saw the rest of the 'gang' coming our way

Ali introduced me to Rose right before leaving the locker room since she was coming in as we were leaving, she's this tall leggy curvy blonde, pretty much every man's fantasy with an amazing personality, she's the most loyal friend you could ever imagine, and one of the smartest girls I've ever met, we instantly bonded with our love for numbers. Next were Emmett and Jasper, Emmett is this bulky teddy bear like guy who looked like a twenty year-old with a five year-old brain, he's always in a good mood

Rose and Emmett lived just two blocks away their entire lives and have been inseparables since they were eight. Jasper is actually Rose's younger cousin; the three of them did pretty much everything together so it just made sense that the other two came along when Emmett started swimming. A couple of years later, Alice transferred from Phoenix and with just a look at her, Jasper was completely gone. Even after years and years together, you could still see the love for one another

After that first afternoon at the cafeteria, we started going to the movies every other Wednesday after practice until school started, and that's when movie-nights began, each Saturday night we take turns to host it, and after a couple of failed snacks (courtesy of Emmett mind you) the girls decided to take charge of that particularly aspect of the night while all Jasper and him had to do was bring the two selected movies, since they always wanted an action or scary one we put our foot down demanding at least one comedy per week. Every now and then we invited someone else, but it was usually just the five of us, and then Ali came up with the idea that on the week of a meeting, we make an even bigger deal of our movie-nights with a sleepover at Jasper's or Rose's the day before to 'calm our nerves'

And so, they easily became my family away from home, I mean, we actually spent more time together than at home, especially when we had out-of-town meetings, even our parents started joking that it would probably save all of us a lot of money if we just lived close by to each other, although actually it was just me and Alice who lived farther from them

__ End of Flashback __

_"Hey B, you ok?, you seemed like you just went miles away" asked Alice_

_"Oh, sorry, just thinking… anyway, how are we?!"_

_"Ok, nachos are ready and popcorn's on the making; let's see if we have everything we need just in case… Rose!"_

_"Everything's ready at the rec room and Emmet just called, they're heading here already and they invited Edward so… do we have enough or we need to prep more?"_

_"Um, no, mom left some cookies and cheese and we can make some fajitas as well"_

_"That's ok, I think we're good then, let's take the food down there before they get here"_ said Rose, grabbing the guacamole and a bowl with popcorns leading towards the rec room

Alice's parents redecorated their basement into a rec room a few years ago, actually she convinced them into it, arguing that it would be better for them since every time we came here Emmett's _'loudness'_ (her exact words) would prevent them from falling asleep… even though their room was two stories above where we were

They painted the basement within the mustard color palette and a beige rug, adding a built-in four-door armoire since we started our very own DVD collection, and some glass shelves for Ali's trophies, an 100" EliteSCREENS Spectrum Series motorized projector screen connected to a SageTV HD extender STX-HD 100 media center and three brown Leather Match Power Motion recliner loveseats

_"So, what exactly are we watching today?"_ I asked them as I was arranging a few of each snack in three matching brown square snack tables with wood top we found in one of our holiday shopping days

_"Ugh… don't even remind me, Emm's going through his 'animated features' stage again and I seriously think he might have been trying to convince Jasper" _groaned Rose, see… us girls are not exactly action films biggest fans, but at least we can 'delight our eyes' as Rose puts it, watching incredibly hot actors while the guys focus on the 'action' part of them

Once we got everything down there settled, we went upstairs to wait for the guys to arrive, thanks heaven we just had to wait around ten minutes before we heard the unmistakable sounds of Emmett's jeep's tires, along with the sound of what we deduced was Edward's car before we heard their voices right at the door

_"How are my girls today?!, are you ready for the most hi-tech awesome m-night EVER?"_ boomed Emmett

_"Jeeeeesh, lower your voice you idiot, we're not deaf!"_ Said Alice. _"Let's head downstairs, everything's ready"_ she added before looking adoringly at Jasper

_"Hello darling, I missed you today, ladies"_ greeted as usual Jasper

_"Hi babe, Belly, squirt… listen, this over here's our homie Edward, I don't think you've met officially yet"_ said Emmett hugging Rose

_"Ladies… since it was a last minute thing, I brought some pizza, you know, maybe we can pass it as 'pasta' __1__ to Carmen"_ said Edward chuckling

_"Oh, that wasn't necessary Edward!, come in you guys!, let's head downstairs"_ said Alice, already bouncing towards the basement

_"Here, let me take it"_ I told him reaching for the box in his hand and really looking at him for the first time

Since we've never actually trained in the same group, and at the meetings he always just stayed by himself, I never had the chance of truly see him. He has brown hair, with hints of red, a strong angular jaw, and straight white teeth. A well defined body, not over muscular, which I'm sure he used as an advantage since extremely buffed ones can create resistance in a swimming race

By the beginning of the second movie, the couples were either falling asleep or making out, and soon enough even Edward and I grew a bit bored so it truly wasn't a complete shocker when he suddenly turned to face me

_"Hey, do they do this every night?"_

_"Nah, it's just 'cause you're here, when it's the five of us they restrain pretty well"_ I chuckled. _"So, how did Em convinced you to come, I mean, you're usually by yourself every time we see you"_

_"Oh, yeah, actually I'm pretty much hiding most of the time, I'm sure you've seen how… intense?... can some people be"_

_"And by 'some people' I assume you mean certain blondies?"_

_"You assume correctly. I just don't really know how can I make them understand it's not cool for them to practically stalk me, so I just stay on one side trying to not bring so much attention towards me"_

_"Are you kidding me?, I don't think they would get it even if you put a sign around your neck. Heck, even Jasper couldn't get rid of them until Rose gave them the bitch face"_

_"Huh… maybe then you can ask her to do it for me too"_ he said half joking. _"Anyway, today Lauren cornered me as I was leaving the locker room and Emmett actually saved me, it was pretty funny actually and we started talking and by the time we reached the parking lot I was already agreeing to come. Hey, by the way, are you sure it was ok for me to just show up here at the last minute?"_

_"That totally sounded like Em, he's a master convincing people, and of course it was more than ok, you actually saved me from boredom, can you imagine what would have been for me if you hadn't come?_ I asked him nodding to the TV

_"In that case, you can use me any time you need to be saved from boredom"_

_"I'll take you up on that… I swear!, and hey, you can totally use us too whenever you want to escape from the blondies" _i chuckled trying to restrain the nickname we gave them from coming out of my mouth

_"Then I guess we better stick close to each other don't you think?"_ he said giving me the most breathtaking crooked smile I've ever seen

I think that was the moment I suspected it was going to be extra difficult to be near him, with that single smile I started to feel something I've never felt before, and I swear it took everything within me to reign my feelings, first of all because we needed to focus like never before on practice, second of all because I wasn't sure if he wasn't just being nice and I was only reading too much into it and last but not the least, he was fast becoming in a really good friend

That first night we got to know each other pretty well, playing 20 questions to learn every little thing, from our favorite color to what we wanted to do after school. When it was time for him to go home we'd already exchanged phone numbers and since we lived close to one another, he suggested we could carpool to and from practice since we already waited for the guys every day, so that meant two whole hours alone with him, and let me tell you, it wasn't easy but I wouldn't change it for the world

With every passing day we got closer to each other, and it wasn't difficult at all, sure it helped to be in a group with two couples, of course we would naturally be one another's company. And surely him being the nicest, more loyal guy I've met in a really long time didn't help my crush, but even though Alice and Rose encouraged me to hint it to him I couldn't do it, if he didn't reciprocated I would lose his friendship and that definitely wasn't an option

Obviously, they didn't listen me and made jokes every chance they could get that it seemed that _'now we're all coupled _up', and that _'you two would make a sweet couple'_ and each and every time they did it I could feel myself blushing from head to toe

And don't even get me started with the blond patrol, though that one was pretty funny actually, because since we started to come and go together pretty much every day (unless one of us was sick), they started to bitching about me more than usual, and I swear they went ballistic after they overheard Rose joke about the coupled up thing, and since every time they joked Edward just went along with it surely not catching up the real meaning behind it (thank God for that), they totally believed it and the next day they cornered me as I was heading towards the cafeteria

_"Hey you!, who the hell do you think you are, trying to steal Edward from us, he's ours, do you understand me?!"_ started Jessica

_"Yeah, don't you DARE even talking to him again, do you hear me?, he's going to be mine"_ screeched Lauren. _"I mean, like, who do you think you are to try to go out with him, you are absolutely delusional to even think he would want you over me"_… see?, bitch extraordinaire I tell ya

I tried, I swear to you I really tried to hold my laughter, but you should've seen their faces all red and practically screeching their teeth that I couldn't hold it any longer and I started laughing… hard. And then to make things worst (for them), I saw Edward coming our way, frowning as he saw me laughing my ass of, and as understanding hit him when I lifted an eyebrow as to say I was laughing at the bitch patrol, he quicken the pace to reach me

_"Hey honey, I thought you were already at the cafeteria, were you waiting for me?"_ he said putting an arm around my shoulders and I swear I almost lost it again at the sight of their faces

_"Hi, Edward"_ they said at the same time, batting their eyelashes

_"Oh, hi there, isn't it sweet of her to wait for me?, I swear I don't know what I did to deserve her"_ he said giving me the crooked smile that could've melted me even without him saying that… if only it were true *sigh*

_"Of course I would wait for you hon"_ I winked at him going along with it

As we were walking away from them, he asked what happened and I promised I'd give him a play by play on the way home

To say that he was furious, it was putting it light, and from that day on he barely left my side even though I told him I didn't care about what they hinted, although I didn't mind at all having him near me

Days passed by, every single one of us seemed right on edge as the qualification meeting got closer and closer, and each and every day I realized it was harder and harder to maintain my crush at bay and that I was in serious danger of starting to fall for him, but I really thought I could handle it… I just had to go by one day at a time

When the D-day arrived we left Rose's about four hours early, even Edward stayed for the sleepover so we could all go together and since we were all so nervous we asked our parents not to go, we arrived to PA's swim club at three and started our relaxation right away. By six everyone had already arrived and Eleazar gave us 45 minutes to do a few warming up laps before we started

Everyone got four qualifying races; we had to choose two from our best style and two from our second one. Rose, Emmett and Edward chose 100 and 200 meters butterfly; Alice, Jasper 400 and 800 meters freestyle; Alice, Rose and Jasper 200 and 400 meters medley; Edward and I went for the 100 and 200 meters breastroke and Emmett went with the 1500 meters freestyle and 400 medley as I chose 100 and 200 backstroke

That night we decided to stay again at Rose's since the list was coming out that Sunday around noon and surely we weren't going to be able to sleep from all the adrenalin, so we just went home to dine with our families and meet again at 10, and of course Edward offered to take me. Thank God dad kind of liked him too; though I think what he liked was the fact that I didn't have to drive alone all the way to Port Angeles

I think we stayed up till around three playing board games and catching up and just relaxing now that the hardest part was over, we've done everything we could and by twelve we'd know if it was enough, but we tried not to think much about it since it wasn't in our hands anymore, and by the time we got up it took every little strength we had not to rush to see the list, but we made it, and by two we were already celebrating the fact that we made it!. Alice's parents threw us a lovely dinner to celebrate it properly with our parents and to meet Edward's parents as well. It felt absolutely amazing the way they were looking at us, as if they've never been prouder, and to be honest we felt that way too

The next three months passed by in a blur, arranging our passports, focusing on our races, making lists and getting every single thing we'll need ready. Since there were 30 of us going, along with Carmen and Eleazar as coaches and a couple of parents as delegates, we all went to practice at the same hours now so it was better in one way since we spent more time together, and it was kind of bad since I started to really fall for Edward with every passing day

Anyway… That's how it is that we're here on December 14th at four a.m. on our way to Sea-Tac to board our 6:10 a.m. flight with two stops, to Sao Paulo Brazil. We would be _on the road_, to put it some way, for about 24 hours, our flight went from Seattle to Ohare, and then wait a little more than two hours before boarding again to go from Ohare to Miami, and two hours later, from Miami to the Aeropuerto Guarulhos in Sao Paulo, and two hours later, we were to board our last flight from Sao Paulo to Porto Alegre, a city 24 miles away from Novo Hamburgo, the city where the event took place. We decided this route since the other option was for us to take the bus we rented to be able to move around and go from Sao Paulo to Novo Hamburgo, but that trip took around 11 hours, so that was a big no, instead since we were landing in Porto Alegre, that road trip would take less than 40 minutes from the airport to the club where we had to go get our credentials before going to the hotel to relax before the craziness began

**Thanks again for sticking with me, this Bella doesn't really put herself down as much as in some stories I've read, I hope you're still with me after this… thank you so much again and I'll try not to take as long to publish the next chapter… oh!, and I'm happy to say I'm going to be an aunt again!, my wonderful V's having a girl!, wooohoooo… we needed a girl after five nephews!, love you V!, you rock! **


	3. We live & die in each hundredth of a sec

CHAPTER 3 – We live and die in each hundredth of each second

**Disclaimer: All things regarding the Twilight Saga belongs to the awesome Stephenie Meyer. All additional characters and the storyline belong to me**

**Here we go again you guys, Thank you for still being here!, and of course to my partner in crime and future mother of my future goddaughter. Sorry for the delay, I had to turn in a midterm on Sunday for an online course and since it was my b-day I tried to finish it before!. Anyway, enjoy, and as one of my favorite ff writers would say… ****_"On with it"_****:**

_"Let's go… Let's go… Let's go… we're late peeps"_ shouted Emmett as he and Jasper grabbed our suitcases while Rose, Alice and I divided among each other the carry-on

_"Oh my goooood SHUT UP!, we're not too late, Bell just texted Edward to ask him"_ Rose scolded him, we knew he wasn't really worried about the boarding as much as he was about the seats

Coach Eleazar told us the first ten to arrive would be able to choose their seats and the rest will just have to make do with where they told them to sit, and under no circumstance we were allowed to change sits, and under the boisterous, excited and sometimes even a bit obnoxious personality he possessed, he was actually terrified to be stuck with a window seat, yep… our bear of a friend was actually terrified of heights, but the funny thing was that it only came out whenever he had to fly

_"I don't care babe, please let's just… hurry, there could be a line for the check-in"_

_"Don´t fret Em, it's way too early for you to be practically screaming"_ I said trying to calm him, it actually was too early to be even awake and expected to be functioning. _"Wait, I'll call him"_

**_"Hey B, where are you?"_** I heard him say, and I swear I felt my stomach do a flip, especially hearing a worried tone in it. I was in so much trouble

_"'sup E?, we're on our way up, Em's just freaking out here, mumbling about check-in lines and stuff, you know, the usual"_ I grunted and heard his sweet laugh

**_"Poor you, I'm here with the coaches, we're the only ones. Besides, I told Coach Carmen about Emm's 'thing' and she said they would save an isle one for him, but I don't think it would be a problem since you're still one of the ten"_**

_"Cool, I'll tell him"_ I said and turned to tell Emmett so he could chill

**_"Oh, and just so you know, you're stuck with me B, since I came first I asked for us to sit together, that way neither is in danger to sit near the gruesome twosome"_** he said, and I distinctively felt my heart skip a beat. He started referring the bitch brigade as 'gruesome twosome' since we saw that movie around three months ago and I can't even begin to tell you how happy it made me that he didn't even gave them the time of the day

_"Don't even remind me of them"_ I grunted

**_"Still not fully awake I hear"_** he chuckled

_"Fully?, try not even a bit, anyway where exactly are you?, we're getting near you I think"_

**_"Uhm, let me see… oh, I can see you now!, turn left"_** he said, and the moment I saw him my heart beat faster

_"There they are!"_ I told the guys pointing at Edward, who looked gorgeous in his khaki pants, terracotta polo shirt and brown Beijing Xinyuan cloth shoes

_"Hell yeah!, let's go choose our seats babe"_ jumped Emmett and started towards the coaches grabbing Rose's hand

Once we reached them, we exchanged hellos with the coaches and they sent us to take care of the check-ins ourselves. Since we were only going to actually be there for about six days, and 95% of our baggage consisted in swimsuits, goggles and caps, our suitcases weren't exactly big, but thinking ahead, Coach Carmen and Coach Eleazar suggested us to have at least one full equipment on our carry-on just in case

_"Hey B!, missed me?"_ said chuckling Edward, and just when I was about to return his 'hello' hug, he handed me the single thing that could make me smile at 4:00 a.m. _"Here, I thought you would be grumpy and I got you this"_ said handing me a large salted caramel mocha

_"Oh my gosh, I think I love you!"_ I blurted out, reaching towards my favorite beverage, thanks heaven I was looking at the coffee instead of him, so if anything I could just say I was talking about that and not Edward, though I'm not exactly sure that's true

_"Ok, ok, you enjoy your new boyfriend while I help you with your stuff then"_ he joked. _"Although I should get credit for bringing that, don't you think?"_

_"Absolutely, here you got"_ I said before giving him a hug/kiss-on-the-cheek combo

_"I'm so touched"_ he said, blushing a little… huh… I don't think I've seen him blush before

_"Come on B, let's do this"_ he said getting in line behind Emmett and Rose

_"Hey Edward!, how on earth are you so awake man?"_ asked Emmett

_"Stopped by starbucks before"_

_"So, we're sitting on the same side right?, that's still ok with you two?"_ asked Rose, who already handed her ticket to the guy at the counter. Before going to book our flight a few months ago, we started talking about how we were going to sit, obviously the couples were going to be sitting together, but we went by different choices, one of us sitting with each couple on the same row or one in front of the other, or even the couples in different rows and each of us on different rows, but that option was quickly dismissed since it meant we could be sitting with two completely strangers, or worse, with Lauren and Jessica

_"Yeah, I'm sitting with B on the row between you two and Alice and Jasper. I already checked with Coach Carm"_ he said like it was the most obvious thing that we were sitting together. Of course Rose catched it and gave me an inquisitive look, I just shrugged since I honestly didn't know what to say. Obviously, being the three of us like sisters, Rose and Alice suspected something even before me, but I never confirmed it… I didn't deny it either

After a few minutes the rest of the team started arriving and we were ready to board. You could feel the excitement in the air, we weren't eager to spend the next 24 hours traveling, but the 6 days in Brazil were completely worth it

_"Flight 1940 to Ohare, please board through gate 4… flight 1940 to Ohare"_ said the intercom lady and everybody started gathering their things to finally start the trip

_"Ok, guys, gather here"_ called coach Eleazar. _"Don't forget anything and please stay close. Remember this is a long trip and we want you to enjoy it as well as focus on the event"_

_"Try to stay with at least one other mate, better if it is the person you're sitting next to on the plane, all sitting arrangements will remain the same throughout the entire way, even for the return, and any question you may have you can approach me, Eleazar, Harry or Sue"_ added coach Carmen

Harry and Sue were one of our swim mates, Seth's, parents and were going on this invitational as delegates, they were a sweet and loving couple who have been married for over 20 years

Once we were settled on our seats, and the plane took off, I started to drift. I felt Edward near my ear, telling me that he would let me know when we were reaching Ohare. My dreams were filled with swimming pools, sun and green-eyed swimmers

The wait to board the plane that would take us to Miami passed by a bit more pleasantly since we were more awake and could joke around better. Alice, Rose and I went to the bathroom to freshen up before going back to the plane. Luckily the two-hour waiting passed by quickly, since most of us weren't fully awake yet, we just listened music, or read something, I didn't wanted to fall asleep yet, since we still had an almost 12-hour flight from Miami to Sao Paulo

The girls and I started chatting while the guys went to retrieve some beverages and snacks and of course Alice didn't waste the time to interrogate me

_"So, do you have something to tell us?"_

_"Yeah, what was all that sitting arrangement change of plans thing about?"_ added Rose

_"It's just that he didn't want to get stuck sitting by Lauren and Jessica, and you know it would've happen if we just sat by ourselves"_ I replied

_"Hmmmm… I don't know Bella, Jasper says he heard him yesterday after practice with coach Carm and asking if it was possible for him to sit with you even if we weren't among the first ten"_ said Alice. _"I think he just wanted to sit beside you, no other reason"_

_"Yeah hon, even Emmett said to me the other day that Edward looks different, the way he's always conscious of where you are, if you're ok, if you may need something"_

_"And the way he's always looking at you when you're not watching, I tell you, he LIKES you at the very least, maybe he hasn't realized yet, but trust me… he does, anybody can see it, why do you think the blondies are fuming?"_ said Alice

_"I think it's time to at least show him how you feel"_ said Rose, she's been always the tougher one of all three but in times like this you could see she's just a romantic like Alice and even me sometimes

_"Come on you guys, you know he's always attentive and not just with me, maybe he just sees me as a 'BFF' and that's why he's nicer. Let's just concentrate on planning how to get our tan while on Brazil, besides I'm not fully awake yet to have this kind of talk"_ I pleaded

A few minutes later the guys came back with refreshments and the whole discussion centered around sleeping arrangements and our races, like it always was every time we were on our way to an invitational

The flight from Ohare to Miami and the wait there before heading to Sao Paulo was spent pretty much the same way as the first one, we all were hoping they'll put us in the same room, or at least be next to each other. They told us we'll be two or three on each room but didn't gave away who'll be in each one so we were pretty much still crossing fingers

It was a plus that we were making a stop in Miami, so we could change clothes before Brazil, it would've been awkward to arrive there dressed for Seattle weather since it was summer there. The six of us found the perfect outfits for this part of the trip on one of our shopping excursions to the mall and immediately fell in love with them, we even bought something for the guys, since we didn't want to risk for it to be sold out by the time we could finally drag them with us

Alice's choice was a fuchsia H&M top, white Mango jeans; coral sandals and she complemented it with Stella & Dot Bardot spiral bracelet and a pair of Peace, Love and Sparkle earrings. Rose chose a turquoise cape blouse; white James Jeans Humphrey; white Steven Madden Manngo high wedge espadrilles and complemented with Ishardya set of six brass-plated bangles and double drama hoop earrings and mine was a green Mango t-shirt, H&M &Loyal jeans, brown sandals; woody bracelets and olivine brass teardrop window filigree earrings

Jasper's was a brown Levis slim fit jeans; grey compass tee with navy swede yellow danite shoes, completed with wrap-around leather watch and a pair of Ray-Ban for when we exited the airport. Rose's choice for Emmett was a burlap Super-dry cotton sweded short; sky classic custom fit mesh polo and white All Star Converse, with wood aviators sunglasses and a fossil heritage fossil leather strap watch. But my absolutely favorite was Edward's (of course I may have been a little biased but sue me), I chose for him a white People's Market skinny jeans; blue with a white strip Sash Polo Shirt and matching River Island slinky pimsolls and a Jil Sander Wayfarer sunglasses, and boy did he pulled it off, he looked absolutely gorgeous

When we were making our way back to them after changing I thought I saw him with his eyes wide open, but it happened so fast I couldn't be so sure, but as we got to them he put his hands on my shoulders and gave me his signature lopsided grin

_"Looking good B!"_

_"Thanks… so… what's the verdict?"_ I asked pointing his outfit

_"Very comfortable… and in my favorite color too, you spoil me, you know"_

_"Oh, well… I guess you owe me one then"_ I said with a wink

_"I owe you more than one sweetheart, and one of these days you'll have to take one of my presents without putting a fight"_ he said with a pointed look, and let me tell you, that sweetheart comment nearly melted me, even if it was just teasing me

_"Hmm… I'll think about it 'sweetheart'"_

_"Let's go, we're about to be called B"_ he said chuckling before grabbing my carry-on

The first hours on the plane everybody talked, laughed and just hanged, but then the exhaustion took us over and some of us started to feel the consequences of an early start

_"Hey, B?, do you want me to get the pillow for you?"_

_"Um, yes please… I don't think I can hold it any longer"_ I said at the same time he was already reaching for it

_"Here, you can lie down here, I think you'll be more comfortable"_ he said patting his lap. I thought about it for a moment before giving in as he assured me he'll let me know when the flight attendant was going to start handing out dinner. As soon as my head was settled I felt him running his fingers through my hair and I started to doze off

It was the best sleep I had in weeks, even if I wasn't in the best setting, but something about that caress made me relax better than ever, and in my dreams it meant something more than a friend looking after another, it was the sweetest dream I've had, and by the time I opened my eyes I looked right into his eyes and just melted a little more at the look on his face

EPOV

From the first time I saw her, I just knew there was something special about her, that I just HAD to meet her. That day, and every other after it, I saw her always with a smile on her face, even if her eyes told a different story

I always saw her with the same group, Emmett, Rose, Alice and Jasper, and at first I wondered if the fact that her closest friends where couples was what put that sadness on her eyes, but actually she was happier when she was with them, and that fact only made me want to get to know her even more but I was a chicken, and sometimes a complete spazz, maybe that's why I have so much trouble making new acquaintances and of course it didn't help the fact that, since my first day at PASC I had to find a way to dismiss this two girls who wouldn't take no for an answer, they looked nice but that's just about it, if I could take a guess I would bet they're cheerleaders wannabes (no offense to cheerleaders but they where poster child for Hollywood's stereotype and that just doesn't go with me), so I just stayed on the sidelines watching everybody interact and only speaking from time to time, but I yearned for the closeness I saw among this six characters, who never in a million years would've thought could get along since they were so opposites, however they complemented each other rather well

From what I could see, Emmett was the funny one of the group, always making jokes and lifting everyone's spirit; Jasper was the calm one, the 'voice of reason'; Alice was the perky one, always kind of bouncing, obviously a fashionista; Rose was obviously very beautiful, tall, blonde, but you could see there was much than just a pretty face, completely fierce when it came to defend her friends... and then there was her, long brown hair with some red locks, maybe from the chlorine in the pool, she was the glue of the group, you could see all of them gravitate towards her, hell... even I gravitated towards her without even knowing, yet almost 5 months later I still couldn't go talk to them, it felt like I would be intruding, so imagine my surprise when one night after practice I found myself driving to Alice's house for a movie night, apparently a tradition for them

Emmett and Jasper saved me that day from Lauren and Jessica when they tried to corner me, again, and kind of forcing me to go out with them (cue to the shudder), and I couldn't bring myself to regret saying yes, so I picked up some pizza since mom taught me to never go to someone's house empty handed. That was the first of many nights I spent with them, they welcomed me in their group and it wasn't long before I felt like we've always been together. Of course since we spent so much time with one another, Bella and I grew closer and soon we started to carpool to and from pretty much everywhere

Those months following that first movie night where hectic, we focused on getting better, visualizing the times we wanted to reach and once the list came out with our names on it, it was absolute chaos between practice, paper work and of course we had to do some shopping since we'll be going to a completely different weather, actually we'll be going from a 45 degree weather to a 75 degree one, and each day I felt closer and closer to Bella

Sometimes I felt like I was starting to really fall for her, especially whenever I saw her hanging out with some other friend, it was kind of stupid actually since I t wasn't my place, even if we joked about being together from time to time to repel unpleasant people (aka Jessica and Lauren and even occasionally Mike). At first I thought it was just my imagination, or the fact that we shared so much, or maybe it was just a crush, since she was always so sweet, it wouldn't be hard, and somehow the thought of her with someone else made my blood boil

With the trip getting closer, I started hearing more and more plans being made by everyone else at PASC and usually I didn't pay much attention, but one day I heard something that made me want to growl. I was about to leave the locker room when I heard Mike and Tyler speaking from the lockers behind mine and I stayed where I was, sensing I needed to hear what they were saying

_"So, you ready for Rio?"_ said Tyler, douche... at least get the city right!

_"Yeah, did you hear Coach El saying if we made it to the airport early we could choose our seats?"_

_"Are you kidding?, you should totally ask to sit by Bella, did you see her lately?"_

_"Uh, yeah, that's exactly what I thought, I just have to make sure Cullen sits away so I can make a move, you think they're still together?"_

_"Don't know man, are you sure they're even together?, maybe he's just a friend"_

_"Yeah, besides Cullen's a freak, did you see him rejecting Lauren?, I heard Pali said she knows some moves"_ Pali was another fellow swimmer who also was a douche if you ask me

That same day I told her I had to do something after practice so I would see them at Rose's and stayed behind to ask the coaches if they could make an exception and allow me and Bella to sit next to each other no matter what, I told them I promised her father I would take care of her and he wouldn't feel comfortable with her sitting next to anybody, which technically wasn't a lie since I told him I would take care of her, and they agreed since Charlie was well known at the PASC. I told Bella a different story though, blaming on my fear of being stuck with Jessica and Lauren (also not an entire lie), since if I told her it was because of her dad, she would've confronted him for trying to 'baby her'

I've been on the very edge of a nervous breakdown till I saw her, remembering her not being an early riser, I waited for her with a cup of her favorite beverage and the smile she gave me when I handed it was breathtaking, I seriously needed to get my shit together. The plane rides to Ohare and then to Miami went without a fuss, we were still to sleepy to even be excited, besides the thought of 24 hours on planes and airports didn't exactly put us in a good mood

While we waited in Miami we all went to change into the clothes the girls gave us, so we could start leaving our cold winter behind and start to get in the summer mood. We could see the touch of each of the girls on our outfits and I could definitely say without a doubt that Bella was the one to put mine together, it had my name written all over it and I could even see certain details that I liked that I remember telling her in one of our many conversations, she completely understood me and it was an amazing feeling, knowing someone out there knows me so well, besides my parents that is. We were waiting for the girls a few feet away from the bathroom and when they came out I was in awe, Bella looked beautiful, I loved the green on her, well, actually she looked great in pretty much any color

Once on the plane, we were chatting among each other about anything and everything, when I noticed B starting to look sleepy, I reached her pillow for her and told her to lie her head on my lap, I'm not sure exactly why, but it just came out of my mouth, what's more shocking is the fact that she agreed, though she did it after I promised to wake her on time for dinner. The moment she laid her head, my fingers started to braid her hair, they seemed to have a mind of their own, but it felt right, not long before she fell asleep and I couldn't do anything but stare

A few minutes after Bella fell asleep, Rose turned to say something to her, assuming she was quiet because she was reading or something of the sort. When she saw her, us, she just looked at me and winked... she fucking winked, before lending me something to keep her warm since the AA was making the plane a bit chilly, and then she just turned again. I just kept watching her sleep peacefully and every now and then I could see her mouth twitching into a little smile, she looked so sweet that I couldn't help but smile back, even if she couldn't see me. After an hour or so of, I too started to fall asleep

My dreams where of a beautiful smart brunette who kept swimming away from me just as I was about to reach her, I kept trying to catch up with her, but just as I was about to get to her, she swam away. I was starting to get frustrated, I needed to see her, every time I got near, my heartbeat became faster, and I needed to know who was her, I had this strange feeling that if I didn't hurry up, someone was going to take her away from me. After what seemed hours of chasing her, she got distracted and turned to see a man figure outside of her water, on her right, and I took advantage of her distraction to catch her by the arm, but she didn't jump, she just laughed and turned and I finally could see her face, and on that moment my breath got stuck on my throat, and my heart started pumping harder... and I woke up

When I opened my eyes, they were fixated on Bella, the beautiful girl in my dream. She looked so peaceful, a tiny smile on her sleep and I couldn't help but watch her closely, it all became a bit clearer, I started to think about what my dream meant and I thought I got it, I really did, that was until she opened her eyes and looked right into mine, then I knew for sure, I was falling for my best friend. The only question now was, can she feel see me as more than a friend?, or does she already do?, I hope she does... she's absolutely perfect, like nobody else I've met. And I have a feeling I always knew I could fall for her, even after I even talked to her, I still remember how my hands were sweating that first night when I gather my courage to talk to her and even then she was so sweet and welcoming. Now I just had to know where were we, if we could be something else, just then, as she gave me a little smile, I felt my heart flutter, and I prayed for her to like me too

**I know… I suck, lol, I'll try to post next chapter this week as well, just keep your fingers crossed. Hope you liked it, it's my first time getting into Edward's head, but I thought you deserved a little extra for my delay. xoxo ladies!, last press junket starts tomorrow!, kind of bittersweet if you ask me**


	4. I Live My Life 25 Yards At a Time

CHAPTER 4 – I Live My Life 25 Yards At a Time

**Disclaimer: All things regarding the Twilight Saga belongs to the awesome Stephenie Meyer. All additional characters and the storyline belong to me**

**Here we go again you guys, Thank you for still being here!, and once again thanks to my partner in crime and future mother of my future goddaughter… you rock Vane!. Anyway, enjoy, and as one of my favorite ff writers would say… ****_"On with it"_****:**

_"Oh my god… Oh my god… Oh my god…I can't believe we're almost there!"_ chirped Alice when we where seating on what would be our final flight, from Sao Paulo to Porto Alegre, and even though we had been nearly 24 hours on our way, the excitement started to build up again the moment we entered Brazilian territory

_"I know Ali!, can you believe in just about two hours we'll be checking in at the hotel?!"_ said Rose from behind me

_"I just can't believe just this morning we were freezing our asses of and now we can, not just see the sun, but feel the warmth of it!"_ I added

_"I know what you mean Bells, did you guys see back at the terminal?, the TV said it was 36º… what is that, maybe 92, 93 Fahrenheit?"_ asked Emmett, and immediately the six of us started trying to convert it

_"Uhm, yeah, I think is 94 Em, but you can definitely feel the change"_ said Edward, and then turned towards Jasper to ask him about the sleeping arrangements at the hotel till we were asked to fasten our seatbelts and everyone clapped their hands and started woohoo-ing

_"So, are you excited B?"_ asked me Edward

_"Uhm… yeah!"_ I chuckled. _"What was that whole sleeping arrangements thing you where talking about with Jasper?"_

_"Oh, uhm, it's just he heard some of us will be put in double rooms and others in the triple rooms according to what Ben said he heard from Tyler, but he wasn't sure how would they divide us so they were going to ask the coaches"_

_"Oh, so… did they found out?"_

_"Yeah, kind of, coach El said the all the triple rooms where on the same floor, at the same floor of Seth's parents room and the double rooms where at the above floor, but they didn't know yet if the coaches' room where on that floor or in a different one"_

_"So… we'll just hope we can get the triple ones so we'll be together"_

_"Aha… that's the catch B, the thing is, the couples will want to sleep together, so…"_

_"If we get those, we'll end up with one of the couples even if we don't want to"_ I finished for him

_"Exactly B, coach said he'll give all the details once we're on the bus"_

An hour and forty minutes later, we were getting on the bus for the 40 min drive to Novo Hamburgo. The moment we set foot outside the airport, we immediately started to soak every bit of sun we could, it was extremely warm, and we could see even locals sweating and gathering in every available shadow but for us it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, to be able to feel the sun and its warmth at this time of the year felt simply amazing

Once the bus started, the coaches got up and started their usual speech. This part we were extremely familiar with, listing the time we were supposed to get up, the events. The staff of the event will supply us passes to get through the main gate security; inside the club we will be having access to every part of the club, except the main restaurant, since it needed a different pass. They said that we were entitled to three meals a day in the main restaurant, and since we'll be staying at a hotel, we could choose to have breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack (which they called 'merienda')

_"Ok guys, we're nearing the club, please hand your ID's to us"_ instructed coach Carmen at the same time coach Eleazar and her started to pass by our seats

_"Aren't we going with you to get our passes coach?"_ asked Tyler, echoing our thought

_"No, we'll collect them for you and tomorrow on our way over here handed them to you. Please be aware that without them you'll be unable to come in or out of here"_ answered coach Eleazar just as the bus parked in front of the club, which was easily 700 square feet big, completely gated and at the main entrance had a security post, complete with bar-code reader, which we assumed was the reason behind them telling us not to lose our passes, we could see a little park to the left and lots of trees at the right

A few more minutes later, we were entering the lobby of 'Hotel 10 - Sao Leopoldo', located at a 15 minutes ride from the club. We entered the lobby and sat at the sofas near the reception area while the coaches and deputies went to check the reservations

_"Ok, here's the thing, there's been a slightly change of plans, we're going to call a few of you to retrieve the room keys. Since this will be a very stressful week, we don't want to assign rooms and take the risk of having to deal with problems, so you can choose your roommates" said Coach Carmen_

_"Those of you who'll come now with us will be bringing the two or three card keys for their roommates and we'll take notes of the name and room number, and will be responsible to return said keys to the desk at the end of our stay"_ added coach Eleazar. _"Once you all have your keys, you can go to your respective rooms and get settled"_

_"You have the rest of the day free, but please take it easy guys, tomorrow we have a long day. Try to use it to rest and re-charge your energy, we need to be tomorrow at 6:00 for the welcome breakfast, at around 7:30 you'll make a few laps, opening ceremony at 8:30 and the races start at 9:00"_ advised us coach Carmen

We ended up in the double rooms, two floors above the triple ones, as well as Harry and Sue's and the coaches' room since they gave the triple ones to the younger swimmers on our delegation. Luckily we could take rooms near each other, being Edward, Jasper, Rosalie and Angela, Ben's long time girlfriend, the ones to retrieve our keys, and since the guys already combined with Ben, we already had the sleeping arrangements ready and were among the first to be ready to go to the rooms

For all intents and purposes, Jasper and Ben were sharing a room, as were Edward and Emmett; Rose and Ali and I would stay with Ang, but later we'll be changing so the couples could stay together, but what made me nervous was that I'd have to share a room with Edward since we were the only single ones, but I pushed it aside to just enjoy the fact that we were here, at least for the moment

The room was amazing, just walking through the door, at our left was the bathroom, which had a huge mirror and two sinks with granite countertop; and glass shelves at the side walls of it, below the sinks it had dark brown wooden doors where the towels were placed, on the countertop was a basket filled with soaks; bath salts and the likes. Next to the door, hanging by hooks on the wall were two of the most comfortable bathrobes I've seen. On the left side of the bathroom were the shower and bathtub, separated by a glass wall

The walls of the room were painted in a peach color; it had two double sized beds, with a table in the middle of them that held the phone; as well as the TV and AA controls. Between one of the beds and the window (which had a view of the hotel swimming pool), was a table with a chair that could be used as a desk. On the opposite side of the beds was the TV, above it was the AA, and next to it were some shelves that could be used as a closet. Under the TV was the mini-bar and at its right, a safe

Ang and I walked around it, trying every single little door or drawer in there, laughing every time we found something new, calling for the other to 'come see'

_"Oh, my, god Bella!, I just, still can't believe we're actually here"_ she laughed once we felt we saw every corner of our room

_"I know Ang!, it feels…"_

_"Weird?..."_

_"Yeah, you could say"_ I chuckled. I always felt at ease with her, that's why I pretty much jumped to offer to be her roommate, as much as I love Alice and Rose, I knew it was best for them to be on the same room, even if for just a few hours, since their personalities were more similar, and with Angela being so quiet most of the time, I was afraid she would feel a bit overwhelmed if she had to be near one of them for an extended period and by herself nonetheless

_"Listen Bella, are you sure you're ok with us changing rooms later?, if you want I can tell Ben to stay with Edward"_

_"Of course it's ok Ang, it'll be a bit weird for sure, but at least we get along so it won't be like that for long"_

_"Yeah, and at least you like each other too, huh?"_ she said with a wink…

_What the…?_

_"Uhm, what are you talking about Ang?"_ I asked trying to avoid the blush that I could feel was making an appearance; at least here I could say it was because of the temperature… yeah, I think I like Brazil

_"Oh, come on Bella, anybody can see that there's something between you guys, even if you're both kind of clueless"_

I sighed. _"I don't think it's like that for him, sure there's been some sort of flirting, but it's just how we are"_

_"Oh, I'm not sure it's just that Bella, I think he really likes you… as more than just a friend"_

_"I hope you're right then Ang, I'm not sure I can hold it for long"_

_"You should just watch it closely hun and you'll see I'm right, I can't wait for you two to get together"_

_"Trust me, you're not the only one!"_ I said laughing. Just then there was a knock on the door, it was coach Carmen making sure we were ok and telling us they'll be calling it a day since they've been up since yesterday at 2 a.m.

A couple of hours later, we started changing rooms. Ang went to Ben's, not before giving me a hug and saying we'll talk later and again at 5 tomorrow before heading downstairs, and Edward crossed the hall since his room was directly in front of mine just as Angela was leaving and gave her a hi/bye hug before closing the door behind him

_"Hey B!, you're all settled?"_

_"Yeah, you can put your things on the other shelves and the bathroom"_

_"You've already chosen a bed I see"_ he said lifting an eyebrow

_"Of course, but you can choose the bathrobe you like"_

_"I'm touched B!" _he laughed and started to unpack

_"So, are you jet-lagged already?"_

_"Not really, but maybe it'll kick in the minute my head touches the pillow, how about you B?"_

_"Kind of the same, actually before I was talking to Ang and it kind of helped keeping me awake, so nope, not really"_

_"What do you say, want to put a movie or something?, maybe relax a bit?"_

_"Sure!, actually, I'm gonna take a shower while you finish here and get ready before you, it's that ok?"_

_"Yeah, I'll find us something for us to watch while you're there B, any preferences?"_

_"Just, no horror please… I don't want to have nightmares"_

_"I'll see what I can do"_ he said laughing

I took a warm shower trying to calm down, and by the time I got out of the bathroom, I was feeling more relaxed and ready to enjoy our first night here

I called my parents and prepared my bag for tomorrow before settling it at the foot of my bed, and called my parents to let them know we got here and to say goodnight, just as I was putting my cell to charge it, Edward got out of the bathroom wearing baby blue checkered shorts and a white V-neck t-shirt

_"All ready B?"_

_"Yeah, I just finished talking with mom. So... what are we watching?"_

_"How does 'superbad' sound?, since we've already seen it more than enough we won't feel so bad falling asleep in the middle of it"_

_"Sounds perfect!"_ I said as he got himself comfortable in his own bed

After a few, it got harder and harder to keep my eyes open, so I just turned around, but not before saying goodnight to him. Just as I was accommodating myself, I heard him getting up and felt my bed move slightly

_"Night B, sleep well. I'll set the alarm"_ he said and I think I felt him kissing my hair before going back to his own bed… _bummer_

I couldn't wait to see what this trip had in store for us… but I was seriously hoping Angela was right

**Sorry again for the delay, but at least it didn't took as long as last time!. Thanks again, I hope you're still with me!. Special thanks to Vane. This week was filled with good news!, my goddaughter already has a name!... Let me hear a cheer for Camila!, aaaaand my sister also has a bun in the oven, I swear I couldn't be happier!**

**Oh, links are on my profile, and btw, if you didn't catch it yet, the chapter names are phrases about swimming, I try to keep it close to the content as I can, if you have some, send them to me!. See you next time!**


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